Japanese dramas, or "terebi dorama" (literally ''television drama'', often referred to simply as "dorama"), are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Though called dramas, they cover a wide range of tones and genres. A dorama can be a romantic soap opera, a comedic look at {{salaryman}} life, a detective story, or even a horror tale... and that's hardly the limit.

The majority of dorama air in what could be considered "prime time"-- starting around 9 pm and ending at midnight, and airing weekly. There are also daytime and afternoon dorama, usually aired daily. A few dorama series air at OtakuOClock.

Due to the "four season" nature of Japanese television and the general concept of a series having a planned run of episodes, dorama tend to have limited runs, much as {{Anime}} do-- a typical evening dorama runs for nine to twelve episodes, with one or two episode runs for doramas commemorating a certain event or theme. Major successes may get an epilogue episode.

Interestingly, each episode of a dorama is usually shot only a few (two to three) weeks before it is actually aired. Many fans have been able to visit their idols shooting scenes even as the show is still airing.